


The Tuskwyrm and the Erudowl

by Wightpants



Category: Babblebrook (Web Series), Goodnight Moon ASMR
Genre: Animals, Fantasy, Folklore, Gen, Magic, aesop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 10:05:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18008897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wightpants/pseuds/Wightpants
Summary: The story of a young Maybell making her way in the world with the help of some friendly creatures.





	The Tuskwyrm and the Erudowl

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Goodnight Moon for creating the wonderful Babblebrook universe for us in her ASMR videos.
> 
> This story is strongly influenced by Aesop and some medieval folklore.

Many years ago, when she was still a young girl, Maybell travelled the world – discovering and learning about all kinds of wonderful creatures. She cared for the sickly ones and befriended the hardy ones. Thus, she was often to be found in the company of an unlikely array of companions – feathered, furry, slimy or scaly.

At this time, Maybell happened to be in the company of a Floffin named Fluffy (it was the first one she had ever come across) and an Erudowl named Aesara. Now, floffins (if you don’t already know) are very cute, fluffy and friendly little birds. And very excitable to boot! Erudowls are a type of bird too – but the similarity ends there! Looking more like a hawk or a raven than an actual owl, they are very much more reserved in nature than a floffin. These fiercely intelligent birds are often thought of as being somewhat aloof, though those who show the patience (and humility) may be rewarded with some enlightening conversation.

Maybell had heard stories about a forest by the Glenham Mountains which was said to be inhabited by some of the most intriguing and magical animals she had ever heard of. She was eager to travel there to see these enchanting beasts for herself. So, that summer, she took a job on a farm in order to raise funds for the voyage.

On her first night at the farm, Maybell (along with Fluffy and Aesara) took supper with Farmer Seamus and his wife, Jaqueline. Maybell’s ‘gift’ for chatter soon had the farmer sharing all kinds of stories about the farm and his family. Merry on his own oakwine, he told them the story of how, in a game of cards, his grandfather had won a chest full of treasure from a coven of witches and used it to buy the farm. The witches suspected him of cheating them, so they cast a spell on him to stop him ever leaving the farm. Unable to get out and paranoid that the witches would come to take his winnings back, his grandfather had buried the treasure on the farm. A mysterious illness soon gripped him and he was dead within a few days. No one had seen the fortune since.

Jaqueline scolded her husband for talking such nonsense. “Magic spells? Mysterious illness? For sooth’s sake, must you go on with that silly old myth!” she mocked, “He drank himself into his grave, Seamus, as well you know. The only reason he never left the farm is that he was too drunk to walk up the road. And the deepest his money ever got was at the bottom of the brewer’s pockets.”

“Ah, well, yes,” admitted Seamus, “But I did always enjoy that story when Dad told it...”

Soon after, Farmer Seamus hired another hand on the farm – a young lad named Simon. Simon brought with him a pet tuskwyrm. Now, a tuskwyrm is a strange looking creature. Not a dragon and not really a snake either, it gets its name from the large, bony protrusions at the front of its head which it uses to burrow under the ground – where it likes to hunt for other subterranean critters to prey upon. Being a fellow animal lover, Maybell thought to make friends with Simon, but she found him to be somewhat arrogant. “Selfish and greedy,” Aesara said.

For their first few weeks on the farm, Maybell looked after the farmyard animals: she milked the cows, fed the hens, cleaned out the pigsty and nursed the orphaned lambs. Simon ploughed the fields by day – he hoed the topsoil whilst the tuskwyrm turned the earth beneath – preparing the land for the year’s first harvest. At night, he watched over the cattle on the moors, warding off wolves and direcats.

When the time came to reap the first harvest, Farmer Seamus was impressed. The tuskwyrm’s burrowing had left the fields in fertile fettle and the crops were excellent. There were buttercumbers as tall as a man and one brandybean squash as big as the mayor’s belly!

Simon could not hide his glee, nor did he prevent himself from taunting Maybell over his farming prowess. Maybell is not one to be jealous, but Simon’s goading eventually got under her skin. He proposed a wager that whomsoever produced the biggest harvest that year would win the other’s salary for themselves. Spurred on by Fluffy’s excited chirping (and against the erudowl’s counsel) she accepted the bet, which was witnessed by Farmer Seamus himself.

Later on, when she had time to reflect, Maybell rued her impetuous decision – there was no way she could compete with the earthmoving feats of the tuskwyrm. “I’ve been such a flibbertigibbet!” she cried. Fluffy tweeted mournfully on her shoulder. Aesara said nothing – instead, she sat deep in thought.

The floffin and the erudowl helped Maybell as best they could. Flying high, they were excellent for guarding the cattle and could spot dangers from miles away. But toiling in the fields they were next to no use at all. Maybell began to accept that she would probably have to work on the farm for a whole year more, just to pay her way and make up the money she needed for her voyage.

A few days later, the farmer’s wife declared that she was leaving for the weekend to visit relatives in the south. After wishing Jacqueline farewell, Aesara beckoned Maybell to speak in private. There, the erudowl revealed her plan.

That evening, Maybell, Simon, their domestic companions and Farmer Seamus all sat down to supper. Maybell was feeling brighter than she had for some time and she soon had the farmer in similarly loquacious mood. As he had on their first night, before Simon had joined them, he recounted the tall tale of his grandfather, the witches and the long lost treasure. All the while, Simon listened keenly.

The following night, as she began her watch over the cattle, Maybell was able to see, from her vantage point on the moors, the two figures of Simon and his tuskwyrm creeping out of the farmhouse and down to the fields. There they spent the night, the tuskwyrm digging, burrowing endlessly, with Simon urging him on, craving the treasures he believed to be buried there. This continued for many nights, until the entire fields had been verily turned upside down and Simon and his helper had no recourse but to give up their search and crawl exhausted into bed each evening.

And so it was, with the fields ploughed as they had never been before, that next harvest was the finest seen on the farm in living memory. The buttercumbers were as tall as trees and one brandybean squash was bigger than the mayor himself!

There was no disputing that Maybell (with no little help from Aesara) had won the bet. With her purse fit-to-burst, she set off for the harbour and the ship that would take her to the lands of the Glenham Mountains and the menagerie of wonders they were reputed to hold.

**Author's Note:**

> I will be grateful for all feedback, especially constructive criticism.


End file.
